The Record
by Ceeg
Summary: Filler scenes for 'Deacon Blues' and 'Fast Food for Thought'


TITLE: The Record  
  
AUTHOR: Ceeg  
  
SYNOPSIS: Filler scenes for 'Deacon Blues' and 'Fast Food for Thought'  
  
DISCLAIMERS: Scarecrow and Mrs King is copyrighted by Warner Bros and Shoot the Moon Production Company. Typical lines, situations, clichés, etc are borrowed from SMK, as well as specific lines from FFFT.  
  
AUTHORS NOTES: Thanks to Gaylynn and Ghostwriter for suggestions and feedback, also barnstormer and bohemian fling for their help. 'Deacon Blues' is one of my previous stories, it's posted at fanfiction.net. After you read all my stories, find and read all of Gaylynn and Ghostwriter's!  
  
Friday, December 14, 1985, Very early morning  
  
Lee Stetson sat in his Corvette about a block from Dooley's. He realized that he was behaving irrationally. That was a good sign, right? If you know you're being irrational, then you're not actually insane, right? Temporary insanity might explain it. There was really no reason for him to think that he would 'lose' Amanda just because her ex was back in town. Amanda King was not the sort of person who would abandon a friend without a good reason. Did stealing a record from the jukebox at Dooley's constitute a 'good reason'? He thought not, after all Joe King had abandoned his wife and family, and she was still friends with him. If she can forgive that, what can't she forgive?  
  
Amanda had taken Lee's side against Joe last night at the Embassy Party, defending their friendship against her ex's accusations. Lee still didn't know exactly what Joe King had said about him, but he suspected most of it was probably true. But most of it was his past, he simply wasn't a playboy anymore, his friendship and association with Amanda had changed that. Lee was very curious about how Monday's lunch between Joe and Amanda would go, but he agreed with her that it was probably best held between just the two of them.   
  
Lee was not totally clear on his own feelings towards Amanda. Over the past couple of years she had gone from being an annoyance to a friend to a very important person in his life. Maybe the most important person in his life. He got up every morning looking forward to seeing her. Before going to bed at night, he looked for an excuse to go see her. He would find himself in her neighborhood 4-5 nights a week, frequently with no good excuse for being there, other than that he wanted to know that she was alright. Whenever she caught him, he was able to come up with some tidbit of information from a recent case in which he was certain she would be interested. But did that mean he wanted to be more than friends?  
  
After dropping Amanda off last night, Lee had returned to his apartment to two interesting messages on his answering machine. Eddie had left a coded message which sounded very urgent. Then there was a message that Eddie was in the hospital in a coma. It was while returning from going to see Eddie in the hospital that Lee had found himself in the vicinity of Dooley's and that's when the insanity had possessed him.   
  
He put the record of 'their song' into an envelope and stuffed it under his car seat. Maybe he would have it sent over to Joe's office at EAO, destroying the record seemed just a little petty. Maybe this Marvin Burgers business would give him a chance to monopolize Amanda's time this weekend, making sure that she didn't talk to Joe until Monday.  
  
***  
  
Lee grinned as he watched Amanda through the kitchen window. It was like she had read his mind, bringing home a Marvelous Marvin dinner for her family. Friday was her day off from the Agency, so this was the first opportunity he'd had to approach her. Besides, he'd had to get Billy to approve his plan. Catching Amanda's attention, Lee realized all he had to do now was get her to go along with his plan. Happily, that was not a problem...  
  
"...I'm looking for a business partner. You interested?" Lee continued.  
  
"Sure, I suppose so. What kind of business?"  
  
"Does it matter?" Lee teased, he loved the way that Amanda was always so eager to help out on these assignments.  
  
"No..." Amanda admitted, smiling softly.  
  
A lock of hair fell across Amanda's cheek, Lee reached out and tucked it behind her ear. His fingertips lightly traced the outline of her ear. He cupped the back of her head and leaned forward to capture her lips...  
  
"Lee...?" Amanda reached up and tucked the loose hair back behind her ear. "You look like you were a million miles away! What's the assignment?"  
  
Lee jumped, startled out of his reverie. Wasn't it bad enough somebody always interrupted them in real life, now he couldn't even get a break in his daydreams!  
  
"Well, when I got home last night, there was a message on my machine from Eddie McVernon. He used to be with the Agency but bought a Marvelous Marvin's franchise after he 'retired'," Lee proceeded to fill Amanda in about his plans for attending the weekend seminar, and trying to find out what Eddie had wanted to tell him. She listened attentively, nodding and asking questions.  
  
"So, I'll pick you up tomorrow, around noon?" Lee finished.  
  
"Sounds good," Amanda assented. "See you tomorrow!" she added as, hearing Dotty call for her, she headed inside.   
  
Lee ducked out the gate with a quick smile and a wave. He headed through the neighbor's yard and down a driveway back towards the vette. He was still of two minds about this weekend. Three weeks ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to book Amanda and himself into the seminar as husband and wife, she'd had no problem spending the night aboard the Mata Hari II with him, he might have considered it time to try the next step. Not that he would expect Amanda to have sex with him, he just was curious to find out if she trusted him enough to share a room... and a bed. But now Joe was back in town. Amanda's ex-husband. And they were so damn friendly it confused him.   
  
Lee knew that Amanda loved him on a certain level. As a person, and as a friend. Nobody had ever loved him like Amanda did. But, could she love him as a man? He really wasn't the type of man he was used to seeing her with. Different from Dean... thank god, never in a thousand years would he be like Dean. But there had been others. Successful, stable, attractive men. Brice Topping, Byron Jordan (maybe not a good example after all), Alan Chamberlain (good thing he was in Paris). And she deserved someone like that, somebody who could give her a good life, a safe life.   
  
Lee didn't know if he deserved a chance, but he firmly believed that Joe King did not. And, unfortunately, Joe might have an inside track. But that was years ago. Amanda wasn't the woman Joe had left behind. Surely she realized that? But he was the father of her children...  
  
"Argh!" Lee was just going around in circles in his thoughts. 'Stetson, you think too much!' he told himself. When had that ever happened before? He barely gave most women a second thought, with Amanda he couldn't stop thinking about her.  
  
***  
  
"Brother and sister? You and me? We don't look a thing alike!" Amanda announced, apparently miffed that he hadn't tried using the husband/wife cover.  
  
'Told you you think too much!' Lee felt like kicking himself, maybe next time he would just talk to Amanda. ASK her what cover she wanted to use... presenting husband/wife as the preferred alternative of course.  
  
***  
  
Lee shot the padlock and opened the freezer door. "Amanda?" he called out, rushing into the freezer.  
  
"Here," was the weak response, even as Lee reached for her and Francine.   
  
He pulled them to their feet, putting his arms around them, he guided them both out of the freezer. They huddled together for warmth. Lee looked at Amanda in relief, he was so glad he'd been in time to save her... them.  
  
Francine seemed stunned to see him. "Where's the white horse?" she asked. Lee didn't know what she meant by that, she must be shock.  
  
"C'mon, let's move, get your blood circulating. It will warm you up quicker." Lee instructed.  
  
By the time they reached the lobby, an Agency vehicle had arrived. Releasing the women, Lee removed his jacket and wrapped it around Amanda. Fielder and Beeman struggled out of their jackets and rushed to be the one to give his to Francine.   
  
"Amanda, I'm so sorry!" Marvin came over and gave her a hug.  
  
"No, Marvin! It's not your fault. You didn't know what Carla and Barry were going to do. I should have stayed and called Lee instead of following you after them!" Amanda refused to allow Marvin to feel guilty.  
  
"Try to remember that next time!" Lee teased her. He probably wouldn't have brought that up for a couple of days, just being glad that she was OK, but he sure wished she'd remember to wait for back up before acting! They'd both live longer.  
  
"What next time?" Amanda asked innocently. They traded conspiratorial smiles.   
  
"At least let me give you some hot chocolate or something to help you warm up again," Marvin insisted.  
  
Francine nodded vigorously and they all followed Marvin to his office. Lee continued to hold Amanda close, as she was still shivering some. Francine avoided Fred and Ephraim's intentions to do likewise.  
  
"Amanda, take tomorrow off. You need time to recover from this," Lee told her.  
  
"Oh, boy! All I had to do to get Monday off was to get locked in a freezer with Francine for over an hour? I wish I'd known that sooner!" Amanda teased.  
  
Lee grinned, she must be thawing out if she's able to make jokes. "Only because you rescued me from that freezer last year!"  
  
"You had it easy, you were alone!"  
  
"Yeah, but then I had to change my clothes and get back to work!" Lee hugged Amanda close to his side, enjoying their light-hearted banter.   
  
He was already thinking of other ways to help her thaw out and recover from the experience in the freezer. He'd recently discovered a wine he hadn't previously tried, but was certain Amanda would enjoy. Maybe he'd invite her over and make dinner this week. Tomorrow night would be good, since she was having lunch with Joe, the best thing to do was keep himself fresh in her thoughts.  
  
***  
  
Lee and Amanda exited the elevator into the Georgetown foyer. Lee started to climb the stairs to the Q-Bureau, when he noticed that she was turning in her badge to Mrs Marston.  
  
"You're leaving?" he asked  
  
"Yeah," Amanda nodded, "I have the day off, remember? I just stopped by to give Francine the chocolates, and see if you'd found out anything about Eddie."  
  
"Oh... OK, well, let me walk you to your car, then."  
  
Mrs Marston watched with interest as Lee scrambled back down the steps, tossed his badge on the desk, and opened the door to the street before Amanda even reached it. Amanda smiled as she preceded him out the door, they joined hands as they descended the front steps and walked to the parking lot.   
  
"So... how did lunch go?" Lee tried to sound nonchalant.  
  
"Well, I told him," Amanda replied, then continued. "I told him how we met, and that we've been working together a couple of years. I couldn't tell him very much about that, and actually he didn't ask any questions about the Agency. I'm sure that will come later when he's had more time to think about it. He seemed more interested in our relationship. I told him that we're business associates, that I've sort of been working as your assistant. And that we're friends."  
  
"Friends," Lee agreed in a flat tone. Friends? He couldn't complain, but the word suddenly seemed too mild.   
  
"Very good friends." Amanda amended. They had reached their cars, she turned to him and took his other hand. Looking him in the eye, she continued. "Lee, you're one of my best friends, maybe my best friend in the world. I hope you know that?"  
  
Meeting her glance, Lee nodded. "Me, too, Amanda." Not very articulate, but he knew she would understand what he meant. He wasn't about to get all sappy on her.  
  
"I told Joe that I can take care of myself, and that when I can't you will. I told him that he didn't have to worry about me where you were concerned. I trust you, and Joe has to accept that." She stated firmly.  
  
Lee understood. He understood that Amanda knew she could count on him, that she could trust him with her life and her feelings. That there was nothing Joe could say or do to shake their friendship. He released her hands, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, resting his cheek against her hair. She put her arms around him and rested her cheek against his shoulder.  
  
"Amanda..." Lee whispered, "I can't tell you how glad I am that I was in time yesterday."  
  
"I know, Lee... me too." Their words were simple, but each knew the deeper meaning, even if neither was ready yet to fully acknowledge their feelings for the other.   
  
After a moment they broke apart, suddenly remembering that they were in public, in the IFF parking lot, and anybody could come by any moment. Lee took Amanda's keys and opened her car door for her. Once she was seated and belted, he handed them back and shut the door. She rolled down the window.  
  
"See you tonight," she said.  
  
"I'll pick you up about 7:30." Lee watched as Amanda backed out of her space and left the lot. He slowly returned to the building as she drove away.  
  
Tuesday, December 18, 1985, Very early morning  
  
Lee Stetson parked his car about a block from Dooley's. He reached under the seat and pulled out the envelope containing The Record. He stared at it speculatively, having decided there was no way he was going to just give it to Joe. Besides, 'the lunch' was over, he had accomplished his objective, he might as well put it back. Hanging onto it would be dangerous, Amanda might find it, and how would he explain that? He could still destroy it, it was an insipid song anyway, she deserved better... No, it was Dooley's property and he was going to return it.  
  
Inhaling her aroma as it still lingered on his jacket, Lee still wasn't certain of his possible future with Amanda. But he knew for sure that he would do anything in his power to make sure that Joe didn't get her back.   
  
He climbed out of the car, and walked to Dooley's. Letting himself in the delivery entrance, Lee made his way through the kitchen and then across the empty dance floor. Producing a screwdriver, he opened the jukebox and slipped The Record into the slot designated for Ray Charles' 'Hit the Road, Jack'... he'd never said he was going to put it back exactly where he'd got it!  
  
The End  
  



End file.
